Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 November 1906 — THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE. [ARTICLE]

THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE.

In state and nation the democratic party has a chance such as rarely comes to a minority party. We are glad to say that the signs seem to show that the parly is going to make the most of it. * * And we are informed that many democrats have assured the governor that they will refuse to be bound by any party caucus that may seek to commit them against measures lor the benefirof the people Indianapolis News i Rep.) In the first place no democratic caucus will “seek to commit” any democratic member of the legislature ‘‘against measures for the benefit of the people.” In the second place, the mere fact that Governor Hanly says be favors a thing i 8 no guaranty that he knows all about it, or that bis view of it is necessarily “for the benefit of the people.” The democratic members of Indiana legislatures have always shown that they have clear notions as to what is best in the way of legislation, The list of good laws to their credit proves that fact. Just now it is much more important to know whether Governor Hanly will stand by the things which the democratic members may believe are “for the benefit of the poople.” He did not do so when he was a state senator. He voted against many measures of proved value, like the tax law and the fee and salary law. The democrats in congress last winter “stood by Roosevelt” on oer-

tain measures which they thought would be ‘‘for the benefit of the people,” not because they were Roosevelt measures, but because they, to an extent, toe-tracked democratic doctrines, as the railroad rate bill, for instance. After congress adjourned Roosevelt refused to give the democrats a particle of credit for their support, though he would have failed without it, and used the result of their work in an effort to get another republican congress. It is plain, therefore, that democrats in both the legislature and congress should so conduct themselves that they will not be used for the mere partisan advantage of the republican party or its leaders.